El Diablo

The El Diablo cocktail, literally translating to “the devil” from Spanish to English, is one of those recipes that on paper just looks as if it shouldn’t work, but happily for all us agave spirit lovers out there it does, and does in no mediocre fashion either…. the widely accepted recipe nowadays is disputed to have been around since the heyday of the 1940s, when Trader Vics was well in its stride as a successful chain of restaurants/bars. The first known recipe in print for an El Diablo was featured in Trader Vic’s Book of Food & Drink (1946) where it was called a Mexican El Diablo and called for ginger ale instead of ginger beer as a lengthener. The debate surrounding the ginger ale versus ginger beer use rages on but suffice to say their flavour characteristics are so similiar that to me using either one only dictates a subtle difference in the end product, I’m more concerned with the quality of the cassis and tequila being employed. A drink that is perfect for the heat of the Australian summer ahead and one sure to aid some relief to Satan’s whiskers….

Beberse todo!! (drink up)

El Diablo
45ml reposado tequila
15ml cassis de dijon
25ml fresh lime juice
60ml homemade ginger beer
add ginger beer to the bottom of an ice-filled highball, shake remaining ingredients over ice and with each half of lime husk previously used for squeezing, strain over the ice/ginger beer mix
garnish with single half lime husk & spoon straw